IS20160 Theories of Media and Communication

Academic Year 2024/2025

This course provides students with an introduction to major themes and issues at the heart of media and communication studies as well as providing a firm theoretical foundation that can be leveraged to explain these developments. The module connects classic concepts and current issues of media and communication and debates, including clicktivism, misinformation, fake news, LLMs, cancel culture, gaming culture, and virtual reality. Each weekly session discusses a current issue in media and communications and provides a theoretical perspective on the problem. Students are expected to analyze media-related problems from a theoretically-grounded perspective using the theoretical frameworks provided in the lecture.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

1. Familiarity with contemporary issues in media and communication
2. Knowledge of a range of theories, models, and concepts in communication theory and their relevance to research and practice
3. Ability to recognise and articulate a range of debates in the sociology of the media
4. Strong foundation in communication theory and familiarity with the epistemological, methodological, sociological, historical, and political questions posed by media and communication technologies

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Autonomous Student Learning

100
Total

124
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Class activities include lectures, debates, seminar presentations and critical reading of research papers.
 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Exam (In-person): The exam comprises multiple choice and open-ended answers. End of trimester
Duration:
2 hr(s)
 Graded No

60

 No
Participation in Learning Activities: In the second half of each lecture, starting from week 2, students will be asked to participate in a group activity which will include a brief assignment. Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11 Pass/Fail Grade Scale No

40

 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

McQuail, D., & Deuze, M. (2020). McQuail’s Media and Mass Communication Theory (Seventh Edition). SAGE.